What Families Should Know About Virginia’s Family Assessment and Planning Team (FAPT)

Helping families access the right support through the Children’s Services Act

When families in Virginia face challenges - behavioral, emotional, academic, or social - they have often been navigating a labyrinth of schools, agencies, and service providers. The Children's Services Act (CSA) was established to ease this process. It provides a platform through which local agencies can collectively and cooperatively finance services for the special needs of vulnerable youth and their families.

At the center of this system is the Family Assessment and Planning Team, or FAPT. FAPT is an organization that couples professionals with families on the team to establish need, determine services, and recommend funding. If you've heard of the term and viewed it in your school or social worker's books and have no clue what it is, then in this blog, we will go through what FAPT is, how it works, and what to expect for families.

Understanding the CSA: Family Support System Perspective

The Children's Services Act (CSA) is a state-wide Virginia law that provides a streamlined system of support and assistance to provide specialized services for children and youth in need of care. Whereas each agency previously worked in isolation from one another, the CSA coordinates activities across community agencies to include local departments of social services, schools, courts, mental health agencies, and community providers to work together.

The main objective in the CSA is straightforward:

To ensure that children and families are receiving the right services at the right time, in the least restrictive setting possible.

CSA is a state and local combination funding pool (State Pool) - a flexible resource for local teams to create individualized service plans for families. This money can be used to pay for everything from in-home counseling and behavioral therapy to special education placements or residential treatment if necessary.

The Two Teams Behind CSA: FAPT and CPMT

Each locality in Virginia has two teams in place:

Individual cases are dealt with by FAPT (Family Assessment and Planning Team). This is the group that meets with families to make decisions on eligibility, need assessment, and service planning.

The process is managed at the overall level by CPMT (Community Policy and Management Team). Community Policy Making Team members (usually agency directors and community leaders) formulate local CSA policy, authorize funding, and maintain accountability.

Consider FAPT as the "front line" where planning occurs, and CPMT as the "executive board" that reviews and approves the funding decisions.

Who Are the Members of the Family Assessment and Planning Team?

FAPT members are representatives of key agencies that are responsible for children and families. The most common team consists of representatives from:

• The Department of Social Services (DSS)
• The local school division
• The units of Court Services (juvenile justice)
• The Community Services Board (CSB) or Behavioral Health Authority
• A parent representative
• Additional partners (health department or private service providers), if necessary.

A parent representative is included as an assurance that families always have input into the process.  Representatives are often people with personal experience of CSA and will make meetings more relatable and family-friendly.

How a FAPT Meeting Works

Each locality in Virginia has two teams in place:

Individual cases are dealt with by FAPT (Family Assessment and Planning Team). This is the group that meets with families to make decisions on eligibility, need assessment, and service planning.

The process is managed at the overall level by CPMT (Community Policy and Management Team). Community Policy Making Team members (usually agency directors and community leaders) formulate local CSA policy, authorize funding, and maintain accountability.

Consider FAPT as the "front line" where planning occurs, and CPMT as the "executive board" that reviews and approves the funding decisions.

Funding and Parental Costs

CSA funding comes from a shared pool of state and local dollars managed by the CPMT. FAPT makes recommendations, but the CPMT approves final funding decisions.

Parents may be asked to contribute financially for some services, depending on their income. Each locality has its own sliding scale policy for assessing parental co-pays. However, some services—like special education placements included in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP)—cannot legally require a parental contribution.

If you have questions about cost, your local CSA Coordinator can explain your area’s co-pay policy and help you understand what to expect.

How to Access FAPT

There are several ways to get to FAPT:

• Agency referral – Schools, DSS, courts, or CSBs may refer a youth directly.
• Parental referral – Every locality must offer a process for parents to request FAPT involvement on their own. You don’t have to wait for an agency to suggest it.

If your child has already been referred, ask the referring agency or CSA Coordinator to explain the process in detail. If you’re initiating the referral yourself, the Coordinator will walk you through what documentation is needed and what steps to follow.

You can find your local CSA Coordinator at www.csa.virginia.gov.

How to Prepare for a FAPT Meeting

Preparation helps you to be confident and make sure your voice is heard. Before going to FAPT, think:

• Gathering important records - School reports, assessments, treatment summaries, and any other relevant documents.
• Listing your priorities - What are your priorities? What do you want to see change?
• Asking questions - Don't be afraid to ask the team to explain things like terms, funding details, or recommendations.
• Highlighting strengths - Share what your child has done well and worked on to help support your child in the past.
• Bringing support - If you are allowed, bring someone you trust, or a support service provider, for emotional or practical support.

FAPT works best when families are ready to cooperate with each other.

What Can Happen After the Meeting

Once services have been approved, the FAPT is still involved in monitoring progress. Families are usually invited back out to view outcomes and make decisions about whether services should continue, change, or stop.

This ongoing review process ensures that supports are relevant and effective and that families aren't left to deal with challenges alone.

Why FAPT Matters

The Family Assessment and Planning Team is not a mere meeting. It's a bridge - connecting families to resources, agencies to one another, and plans to funding. By having all parties at the table, FAPT prevents families from begging different systems for help.

Most importantly, families are not mere participants - they are partners. The team process depends on you: your understanding, your advocacy, and your insight into your child's needs.

In Closing

Virginia's Family Assessment and Planning Team is here to make sure children and families aren't facing the challenge on their own. Through the process of collaboration, shared funding, and open communication, FAPT processes take what can seem like a confusing system and turn it into a coordinated support system.

If your family is in trouble and you feel that CSA may help them, then contact your local CSA Coordinator to find out how to get started. Contact information and resources for that are available at https://www.csa.virginia.gov/.

Because when families and agencies plan together, kids thrive - and that's just what the FAPT is set up to make happen.